Chana Masala (spicy chickpeas) is one of those ten dishes you will find at pretty much every Indian restaurant in America. You can understand why: it is inexpensive to prepare, delicious, healthy and satisfying. The mass prepared versions are usually pretty good, but you can make a similar dish at home and enjoy fresher, more vibrant flavors.

If you have the ingredients on hand and use canned chickpeas, you can make this chana masala in just 20 minutes. I find that canned chickpeas are often undercooked and a little crunchy, so if I go that route, the first thing I do is put them on to simmer while I prepare everything else.

The mushrooms add a little textural counterpoint without being a main focus of the dish. You can certainly omit them or use a different vegetable to suit your needs.

Chana Masala with MushroomsVegetarian, vegan if you use vegetable oil, and gluten-free
Serves 2 as a main course with basmati rice or 4 as part of a larger Indian meal

If using canned chickpeas and, drain and rinse them, and put them in a saucepan with water to cover, then bring to a boil and simmer while you get everything else going. This will improve their texture. You can do this in the microwave too. Or skip this step completely if your chickpeas are already pleasantly soft.

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over a medium-high flame. Add the mustard, fennel, cumin and coriander seeds. Cook for about 10-20 seconds until the mustard seeds begin to pop. Immediately add the garlic, onion and tomato.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until the liquid is mostly gone and everything is browning.

Add the mushrooms and the drained chickpeas, the hot pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper, lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt, and a cup or so of water, so it is kind of soupy.

Cook uncovered over a medium-low flame for about 15 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning. Does it need more salt? More lemon juice? A bit more cayenne?

Finish for the texture you want – you can see how I like it in the picture above. Then in a separate skillet, heat the last tablespoon of oil over a high flame and fry the mustard seeds until they pop, just a few seconds. This is called tempering, and it is a great way to add a final layer of flavor. Toss the contents of that skillet over the chickpeas and serve, with the cilantro for garnish.

Just discovered your blog (yay) and made this last night. Yummy! I used your technique of extra simmering for my canned garbonzos, and I’m sure it helped but I think I’ll cook my own next time (never done that before) since they never really softened. Also added more water for more sauce. Loved it. Looking forward to trying more!

Thanks for this! Just made it the other night, minus the mustard seeds and chili pepper because I had none. Very good! I was lazy about pans and just simmered everything together in one pan longer till the chickpeas were soft. Served it with butter chicken, rice, and a lentil and potato curry. Mmm.

Made this for dinner tonight along with three tried-and-true veg*n favorites from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cooking, and count it a fabulous success. Forgot the last bit of tempering mustard seeds, so I’m sure my next attempt will be even more delicious (and I also look forward to testing my intuition that this might be one of those recipes that makes excellent leftovers). Thank you!

Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I’m living in Buenos Aires right now and can’t find any decent Indian food here. Happily I was able to find all the ingredients I needed, except the black mustard seeds, so I used a teaspoon of curry powder that contained mustard. I even got lucky and found some spicy little peppers at the local produce stand, which are not easy to find here because people generally don’t eat spicy food. I also added a little more mushrooms and a little more water so I could simmer it longer. It was amazing, really hit the spot for a girl craving the comfort of Indian cooking!

Thanks Michael
This is the first recipe of yours that I have tried, it’s really lovely. Like dillydoodle I added more mushrooms (and an extra tomato) and simmered for longer before putting the chickpeas in. I was also lucky enough to have some homemade stock in the freezer so I put that in instead of the water.
I look forward to trying more or your recipes!

Michael- this recipe was SO great. I also made it using vegetable oil and substituted brown mustard seed for black. If I used ghee and the black mustard seed, does it make a huge difference? I am making a bigger batch tonight with ghee and bl. mustard seeds which I plan to go get today!

Glad you liked it! Yes, I think you will taste some difference with the ghee and black mustard seed. The ghee of course tastes a bit richer, and the black mustard seed has a bit different flavor and texture.

Looks great! I have not used fennel seeds before while cooking chickpea curry. Will give it a try.

Couple of suggestions, in step 4. perhaps add the dry spices like turmeric before adding chickpeas & mushroom and roast for say 30 seconds. This will mean that the curry will not have the pungent taste of uncooked turmeric. Also, if using dry turmeric, reduce the quantity to 1/2 – 1 tsp.

You are great at what you do. I am a novice cook and even I was able to follow the steps and make a delicious dinner. I loved the use of whole seeds in this – I’ve tried to cook Indian before using mostly powdered spices and I thought this version had a more intense flavor. Thanks for sharing your work with us!

I am not vegan but am trying to learn to cook some vegan dishes since my daughter is. Just wanted to tell you what a delicious dish this is. I will definitely make it again. Thanks for a great recipe!!